Strategic Planning in Family Businesses

The assignment content presents a collection of academic articles and online resources related to business strategy. The articles cover various topics such as family businesses, digital business strategy, process management, innovation, corporate social responsibility, and small business strategy, among others. They explore the importance of strategy in different contexts and industries. Additionally, an online article from Volkswagen discusses their 2025 strategy focusing on digitalization and mobility. This collection provides insights into the various aspects of business strategy and its application in real-world scenarios.

BUSINESS
STRATEGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
TASK1........................................................................................................................................................3
1.1) Mission, vision goals, objectives core competencies inform strategic planning................................3
1.2) Factors considered in formulating strategic pans......................................................................4
1.3) Effectiveness of used techniques in strategic planning.............................................................5
TASK2........................................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Analysing strategic positioning by organisational audit.............................................................6
2.2) Environmental audit of VW AG................................................................................................8
2.3) Significance of the stakeholders in the formulation of strategies.............................................9
2.4)New strategy of the organisation..............................................................................................10
TASK3......................................................................................................................................................11
3.1) Appropriateness of the alternative strategies...........................................................................11
3.2) Justification of the selected strategies.....................................................................................11
TASK4......................................................................................................................................................12
4.1) Roles and responsibilities of the related people in strategy implementation..........................12
4.2)Analysis of the estimated resources.........................................................................................12
4.3)Evaluating the contribution of SMART targets........................................................................13
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy is the model through which the organisation can be able to make the plans in
well defined manner to attain the objectives of it. It is a plan that is made for long term purpose by the
firm to enhance the performance and also to face the environmental factors that can impact the
operations of the firm. It is made as to grow the business and to develop an create awareness in the
market. Volkswagen is one of the leading auto-mobile industry in the current market (Astrachan, 2010).
The car of it is listed inn the top ten best selling cars- Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Passat and
Volkswagen Beetle, there are most sold vehicle of the firm. The firm has made number of strategies to
sustain and to grow as well as to lead in the competitive market. The strategic management has the
main role in the firms profitability and productivity.
TASK 1
1.1) Mission, vision goals, objectives core competencies inform strategic planning.
Strategy is the guide that are made by the organisation for log term perspectives to attain the
growth and its survival. It is very essential for the organisation to be rational while making any kind of
plans and decisions related to the operations of the firm. What ever the strategies are made has to be
relevant to objectives and goals of firm. There are certain aspects that help in making effective
strategies they are as follows-
1. Mission statement- It is a kind of a written statement which provides the basic and core
information related to the firm. It basically defines the core functions and how it has to carry out
all its operations in upcoming years (Bharadwaj and et.al, 2013). Therefore it can be said as
mission statement is the basic that defines why the organisation is existing in the market.
2. Vision- This is also a written statement which defines the current position of the firm and
declares where it has to reach in the future so that its objectives and goals can be attained as
planned. There are certain things that a vision statement contain in it, such as-
 It must contain a clear and accurate capability of the future position of the firm.
 It must be capable enough to allocate and function with all the available resources.
 It must be powerful so that the motivation of the manpower of the firm can be
automatically get generated.
3. Core competencies- it is the core quality and techniques that differentiate the organisation from
the other competitors of market. The USP of the business which help the firm to make its own

unique identity in the market.
4. Goals- These are the plans that are of long term nature and as it get accomplished the purpose
and the aims get completed (Burlton, 2010). It is almost similar to the objectives of firm.
5. Objectives- These are the plans that are made for short period of time. The missions can get
attained with the help of fulfilment of objectives.
1.2) Factors considered in formulating strategic pans.
The strategic planning is the most important factors of the firm as to attain the planned and
desired goals of it. There are many factors that are very essential in the organisation to formulate the
strategic plans for the firm to attain success and growth in market. These factors has to be considered as
they hep in making effective strategies for the firm. They are as follows-
 Managers- The organisational hierarchy has few levels, top level, middle level and lower level.
The strategies are made by the top level management of the firm keeping in mind about the
business objectives and aims. The middle level management will delegate the roles and
responsibilities and at last the lower level management will set their individual targets to attain
the set strategies by the manager of top level.
 Delegation- it is the important factors in the concept of strategic planning as because the middle
level management team will delegate the duties to their subordinates to perform the task
accordingly. The duties and responsibilities are divided and allotted according to the skills and
capabilities of the employees and workers of the firm (Campbell, Edgar and Stonehouse, 2011).
The delegation is depended upon the availability of the resources and this will help in the
enhancement of productivity in the organisation.
Strategic planning steps

 Targets- These are the standards and a set benchmark which is made by the top level
management so as to guide the employees and the management to perform the tasks in effective
manner so that ultimate objectives and goals can be obtained by organisations.
 Resources- It is the most important and crucial aspect of any of the business. All the required
resources by the firm has to be very well managed, then only the strategies of the firm can
effectively be able to accomplish all the set standards and goals (Cinquini and Tenucci, 2010).
The resources has to be very appropriately managed and allocated so that the wastage and cost
can be reduced.
1.3) Effectiveness of used techniques in strategic planning.
The business strategic plans are very effective aspect of the firm hence while planning it is very
necessary for the firm to use various techniques that can help the management to make effective and
proper strategies for the business. The effectiveness can only help the firm to attain the goals and
sustain in the tough market of competition. The techniques that the firm can use as to support the
strategic planning are as follows-
BCG Matrix
It is a techniques that is mostly used by the different organisation to understand its market share
and the opportunities where it can invest and grow. This model is also called as the growth-share
matrix. This is basically relies upon the product life cycle as because it is used to know the various
steps that a product consists in its whole period of life (Cooke and Saini, 2010). With its help the firm
can be able to know the position it contains in the market. The strategies are made by the growth rate
that can be analysed with the help of this technique. Basically the BCG matrix has four aspects- Star,
cash cow, question mark and dogs.
BCG matrix

1. Question mark (?) position- At this stage the company's position is at the initial stage as because
the products of the firm is just introduced in the market. Here the shares of the market are less.
2. Star position- At this stage of BCG matrix the position of the organisation is as it has improved
the performance in the business activities and the shares of the market has also been increased
which describes the stage of growth.
3. Cash cow stage- this is the stage of maturity which can be seen in the product life cycle (Dong-
Hun, 2010). At this step the shares of the market of the organisation is very high but the
industry is at its saturation point.
4. Dogs position- it is the stage where the business and industry both reaches at the declining
stage. The products of the firm has been used by all and the customers are switching due to
boredom by using the same products. At this phase the organisation will exit or will innovate
and modify their products as to survive in the market.
TASK2
2.1 Analysing strategic positioning by organisational audit.
Organisational audit is the method of maintaining the record of the assets and the liabilities of
the organisation. It consists of the work capacity, process, capabilities of the manpower, financial
position, infrastructure and many more. These aspects help the top level management team to prepare
the strategic plans for the organisation. To carry out the organisational audit the SWOT analysis can be
the effective tools that Volkswagen can apply. The internal and external factors can be studied with the
help of the SWOT analysis.

SWOT analysis of VW AG
 Strength- It is the factors of the firm which tells about the positive aspect of the business. It can
be in the favour of the organisation and it can be in the control of the firm as because it lies in
the internal environment of the organisation. The biggest strength that the firm has with it is the
manufacturing and the process of production. The company uses various methods through
which the firm help in the manufacturing of the cars in large scales. The cost of production also
get decreased which helps I getting the benefits related to the prices in the market (Hsieh, and
Chen, 2011). Many manufacturing plants has been established by Volkswagen group as because
if case any of the plant is busy in making any part then the other plant can be used for
manufacturing the other parts of the cars.
 Weakness- The weakness is also one of the factor through which the organisation's audit can be
carried out, it is also an internal factor so the controlling can be done by the firm. There was a
time when the firm is seen to be diverted from the goals and its objectives. The performances of
the firm is sluggish in many regions of South Africa. The productivity of the employees are
quite low in the organisation and the condition of the cash flow of the firm is also poor (Hamel,
2012).
 Opportunity- It lies in the external environment of the business. These factors can not be
controlled by the organisation. The opportunities that VW AG has in its part are to capture most
of the market share for that it has made strategies to acquire many firms which helped it to
enhance its productivity and also the profit in the market. It can acquire more company to
capture more shares. The another opportunity that the firm can get is the investing in new
technologies so that the cars that they produce can get better look and modification can be
carried out. It can increase its demand of buses in the international market, it can griw in the
regions of Asia like India and china.
 Threats- it is also a factor of external environment over which the company can not control or
make any kind of safety actions as because it takes place in the market. The most important and
vital aspect of the threat that would be faced by the firm is the increasing competition in the
market. Toyota , Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes and BMW are the great competitors of the
organisation. The biggest threat faced by the firm was the recession that took place in 2009
(Meskendahl, 2010). also the regulation of the environmental factors are to be considered by the
firm if not then an become an big threat to the firm and its activities.

2.2) Environmental audit of VW AG.
To know about the environmental factors it is very essential for the firm to carry out the market
research. This is the method through which the organisation can be able to understand all those factors
that can impact the operations and functions of the firm in both positive and negative manner. There are
many factors that has a very direct connection with the firm's activities, as to understand that the
PESTLE analysis can be carried out-
1. Political factors- Political factors are those environmental aspects which varies according to the
nation where the operations of the firm is carried out. As Volkswagen is dealing in around 150
countries therefore the political policies are different and it is very necessary for the
organisation to follow and understand laws of the different nations. The strategies has to be
made by the organisation to cope up with the challenges of the political aspects of the several
countries. The interest rates related to the loans can be fluctuated which can affect the sales
rates of the cars.
2. Economical factors- The auto-mobile industry is the sector which is contributing in large scale
in the development of the nation's economy (Montgomery, 2011). The nation where it is been
established, the operations and the profit will also contribute in the GDP of the country. The

factor that affect the activities of the fir can be the PPP of the customers. Although the firm is
offering reasonable price of the products still there are many people in the society who cannot
afford for the products and services of Volkswagen. This can be an issue that the firm can face.
3. Social factors- The society is one of the important part who plays an essential role in the
development of the industry. It is very necessary to consider the want and the demands of the
customers as because they are the ultimate purpose for whom the firm is carrying out its
operations and functions. Hence customers satisfaction is very must. The social factor that the
firm has to focus is to manufacture the cars with many safety aspects as because there are many
road accidents which takes place due to unprotected manufacturing of the vehicles.
4. Technological factors- Technologies are changing very frequently hence it is very important for
the firm to be updated with the market's new and advanced technologies as because his will
help in the development and modification of the car's design. The cars are very complex item
that are delivered in millions every week, if the technologies are not upgraded then it become
very difficult in producing the cars in large volume.
5. Legal factors- The laws, legislation and the rules are very essential aspect that the organisation
has to focus upon. The company deals in more than 150 countries hence the legal aspects are
very different as per the nations (Nordqvist and Melin, 2010). Therefore the firm has to consider
all the related laws and the policies of the products and the services of the auto- mobile industry
that are implied by the government of the various countries. The import and export are to be
done by the firm as to produce an cars many raw materials are required hence the related laws
are to be known by the firm.
6. Environmental factors- The car uses the fuel like the diesel and petrol which emit various gases
in the environment which can be very hazardous for the health of the people. The
manufacturing of the car needs steel and the steel are transformed from iron. The company
which produce steel pollutes the air and water. This can affect the society. Hence its directly
affect the firm's operations.
2.3) Significance of the stakeholders in the formulation of strategies.
The stakeholders of the organisation has their own and important role in the development of the
strategies in the firm. The analysis of the stakeholders means to understand and identify the efforts and
effectiveness of people who are linked with the operations of firm. Volkswagen has to know the

positive aspects and strengths of stakeholders so that it can help in the increase in the business and also
to mould the strategies (Reinhardt and Stavins, 2010). Basically stakeholders are those people who may
or may not be linked with the firm but the operations of the firm can affect them.
1. Owner- He is the one who owes the activities of the firm and makes sure about the margin of
the profits.
2. Suppliers- These are the people who supplies the materials that are required by the firm in the
manufacturing of the cars.
3. Employees- The essential stakeholder of the firm is the employees. They are the performers of
the firm who dedicate themselves in the roles and responsibilities that the profile a lot them for
the attainment of the goals of the organisation. They are to be retained by the firm.4. Customers- The most important part in the development of the organisation. Their satisfactions
is very essential that the company has to focus upon the most.
Importance of stakeholders analysis.
 It helps in making effective strategies.
 Helps in expanding the business.
 Helps in motivating the employees.
 It help in the forming of corporate relationship.
2.4) New strategy of the organisation
The new strategy that is made by the organisation is the “Volkswagen 2025”. after the emission
scandal the organisation is focusing upon the more care of the people of society. It is shaping its role in
the auto mobility in future generations of the cars. The new strategy is VW AG will enhance the
performance and it is more focused, innovative, customer oriented and sustainable as to grow the profit
in the market with more loyalty (Teece, 2010). The strategy which the firm is going to implement is
significantly efficient, profitable and productive and the most important fact is the safeguard of the
customer.
The special consideration will be upon the e- mobility. The organisation is planning to launch
30 battery powered vehicles within the ten years. It has forecasted the sales by 2025 will be between
the range of two to three million units almost 20-25% of the total sales of the expected units.
It can be analysed that the Volkswagen strategy which is “Volkswagen 2025” that can be used
for analysing and examining future requirement of the company. This will assist in enhancing
performance of employees, make innovative products in easy manner and also distribute these products

in the large market place.
TASK3
3.1) Appropriateness of the alternative strategies.
1. Substantial growth- It is the strategy used for the continuous and increasing growth of the
business. As the company is planning to develop the new strategies the utilisation of the fund
can be done by the organisation as to grow in the substantial manner (Scholes, 2015). This
strategy will help the firm to make the decision of the sales of the cars.
2. Limited growth- As to maintain the financial state of the organisation this type of strategies are
adopted by the firm. Here the growth of several aspects of the business are stopped and the
finance are get managed through this.
3. Market entry- The organisation can opt this strategy of entering into the new market so as to
attain and capture the share and it will lead in the growth of the firm. There are many challenges
that can occur which has to be tackled by VW AG.
4. Retrenchment- This is the most effective strategy that are used by the firm so as to mitigate the
risk that can incurred in the business operations of the firm. Here the firm more focuses on the
promotional act of the offerings.
In this, VW AG can adopt market entry strategy through which they can easily enter in the large
market place for expanding their business operations and its functions. It can be useful for firm for
enhancing the business growth and success level in proper manner. They can supplying variety of
products and services in the whole market area in order to attract more customers.
3.2) Justification of the selected strategies.
The objectives of Volkswagen is to sustain in the market and to win the hearts of the customers.
Hence the correct strategies has to be implemented by the firm. The executed strategy must be
justifying the following aspects of the market-
 Sustainability- The sustainability is the most important fact of the business to grow and
develop itself. Hence the strategy of Volkswagen 2025 is effective enough to support the goals
and the objectives of the firm for long term purpose.
 Feasibility- The strategy must be feasible as the new strategy has this components in it
(Verbeke, 2013). The customers oriented market is been chosen by the firm hence the services
and the products that are to be offered by firm to clients are qualitative and effective.

 Acceptability- The planned strategy can be accepted as because it is focusing on the auto-
mobility that is a new innovation and the safety precautions are more concerned by the firm in
the upcoming cars.
It can be concluded that VW AG can adopt sustainability strategy because this will help them in
growing and expanding business operations in another country. It can used for reaching with desired
goals and targets which are set by an organisation for future time period. Along with this, it is that
strategy which help them in attaining required objectives of the company.
TASK4
4.1) Roles and responsibilities of the related people in strategy implementation.
Role of Top level management
The top level management of VW AG has the responsibility to prepare a blueprint of the
strategies that it will be implementing the business operation of the firm. In the blue print the
management team will draw certain controlling and coordinating factors for the development and
enhancement of firm's functions (Verreynne and Meyer, 2010). They also has the duty to communicate
each and every aspect of the made strategies to the middle level management so that they can carry it
forward for the implementation and execution stage.
Role of middle level management
These people act as the mediator between the top level and the lower level management in the
organisation. As pet the planned strategies of the top level management they will delegate the several
roles and responsibilities to the lower level for the actual execution of them. The targets and the aims
are divide by idle level and are communicated ro every department of the organisatio so that the each
goal that lies upon every individual can be attain and ultimately the common objective of the firm can
be obtained.
Role of the employees
The basic role that lies upon the employees are to follow the guidelines that has be given and
provided to them by the middle level management team. The employees must understand the reason
behind making new strategies by the top level management, then only they can perform their operations
effectively.
4.2)Analysis of the estimated resources.
The allocation of the resources in the organisation is very must and that is also in an effective

manner. It is dependent upon the demand of the products in the market. As to formulate the strategy
implementation resources allocation is very important. To analyse the resources requirements following
aspects has to be considered-
 Budgetary resource- The prior task that the firm has to carry out is the designing of the proper
budget system and the requirement of the funds has to be well prepared (Woodcock, Green and
Starkey, 2011). The estimation can be concluded with the help of the expected returns. The
estimation that the management is seeking must be reliable to the goals and objectives of the
firm.
 Technology- It is the key aspect of the firm as because the manufacturing of cars are the main
activity of the firm hence the right and effective use of the technologies are very must that can
be happen only when the technological resources are allocated properly.
 Human resource- Man power of the firm is also an important component of the firm. They are
the one who are totally responsible for all that they perform (Montgomery, 2011.). Hence their
care, training and enhancement of their performance are to be monitored and evaluated.
 Physical resources- The products that are availed to the customers are effective enough so that
the desired goals can be attain by the firm. Hence their allocation at the required places are very
essential or the firm to carry out.
4.3)Evaluating the contribution of SMART targets.
Volkswagen is the leading auto-mobile firm in the international market, but as to give tough
competition and wants to survive in the market it has to create new strategy for its business. The
SMART targets has to be attain by the firm to obtain its ultimate goals.
 Specific(S)- It is a types of target or goal which will help in making the decision in more
appropriate and clear manner. With the help of this the communication can be done easily
between the firm and the all related people of the organisation. The unsatisfied and non buying
customers are targeted by the firm which will help in increasing the turnover of the firm.
 Measurable(M)- The achievements of the goals can be measured with the help of this aspect.
This will help the firm to know whether they are on the correct or right path or not. The
measurable act can be carried after the exact execution of the strategy.
 Attainable(A)- The objectives and the implemented strategies can only be attained when the

targets of the plans will achieved. If those untapped market's customers will attracted and will
buy the products then the standards are attainable.
 Relevant(R)- The capturing of the market's share can be a step to the reach of the goals. It can
be done by mergers and acquisition by the firm (Hsieh and Chen, 2011).
 Time (T)- This is the element which clearly defines the starting and the end points of the
objectives. It help the firm to attain its objectives on the drawn time period. The time factor will
be fixed within that the firm has to at any cost obtain the desired objectives and aims.
CONCLUSION
The main objective of this assignment study is to understand need of making strategies and to
manage them effectively to attain the organisational goals and success. The objective of the firm is to
position itself in the global market. The role that strategic management plays in the operations of the
organisation is been discussed here. The internal and external factors audit has been carried out and the
stakeholders needs are also analysed. The use of company's mission, vision competencies are been
evaluated through this assignment. The various strategy making techniques are used by Volkswagen to
promote itself in the international scenario.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Astrachan, J.H., 2010. Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda.Journal
of Family Business Strategy.1(1). pp.6-14.
Bharadwaj, A. and et.al., 2013. Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights.
Burlton, R., 2010. Delivering business strategy through process management. In Handbook on
Business Process Management 2(pp. 5-37). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Campbell, D., Edgar, D. and Stonehouse, G., 2011.Business strategy: an introduction. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Cinquini, L. and Tenucci, A., 2010. Strategic management accounting and business strategy: a loose
coupling?.Journal of Accounting & organizational change.6(2). pp.228-259.
Cooke, F.L. and Saini, D.S., 2010. (How) does the HR strategy support an innovation oriented business
strategy? An investigation of institutional context and organizational practices in Indian
firms.Human Resource Management.49(3). pp.377-400.
Dong-Hun, L., 2010. Korean Consumer & Society: Growing Popularity of Social Media and Business
Strategy.SERI Quarterly.3(4). p.112.
Hamel, G., 2012. What matters now.Strategic Direction.28(9).
Hsieh, Y.H. and Chen, H.M., 2011. Strategic fit among business competitive strategy, human resource
strategy, and reward system.Academy of Strategic Management Journal.10(2). p.11.
Meskendahl, S., 2010. The influence of business strategy on project portfolio management and its
success—a conceptual framework.International Journal of Project Management.28(8).
pp.807-817.
Montgomery, C.A. ed., 2011.Resource-based and evolutionary theories of the firm: towards a synthesis.
Springer Science & Business Media.
Nordqvist, M. and Melin, L., 2010. The promise of the strategy as practice perspective for family
business strategy research.Journal of Family Business Strategy.1(1). pp.15-25.
Reinhardt, F.L. and Stavins, R.N., 2010. Corporate social responsibility, business strategy, and the
environment.Oxford Review of Economic Policy.26(2). pp.164-181.
Scholes, M.S., 2015.Taxes and business strategy. Prentice Hall
Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation.Long range planning.43(2).
pp.172-194.
Verbeke, A., 2013.International business strategy. Cambridge University Press.
Verreynne, M.L. and Meyer, D., 2010. Small business strategy and the industry life cycle.Small
Business Economics.35(4). pp.399-416.
Woodcock, N., Green, A. and Starkey, M., 2011. Social CRM as a business strategy.Journal of Database
Marketing & Customer Strategy Management.18(1). pp.50-64.
Online
Volkswagen’s 2025 strategy targets digitalisation and mobility. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.sbdautomotive.com/en/volkswagen-2025-strategy>. [Accessed on 17th May
2017].